Shweta wants to do a film raunchier than Rathinirvedam

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Shweta wants to do a film raunchier than Rathinirvedam

Critics come and go but Shweta Menon goes on forever.
A much trimmed down Shweta is now all set to walk the ramps and is also “game to play something even raunchier than Rathinirvedam’’. In conversation with Shweta Menon, who will also be seen playing a man’s role in Ranjilal Damodaran’s Naval Enna Jewel, which has an international cast.

You played a major part in kicking off the trend of woman-oriented films in Malayalam. But you suddenly disappeared. Why?Well, I was sick and tired of the ‘bold’ characters that kept coming to me. I wanted to do something lighter, like in Salt N’ Pepper, or even something raunchier than Rathinirvedam. But it had to be something different. I love that I am being offered films but I just couldn’t do the ‘cotton sari-strong woman’ role again. As an artiste, there is nothing more I can offer there. But the same thing in a bigger canvas was something that hooked me, and that was why I took up Naval Enna Jewel.

There is a lot of curiosity surrounding your role in Naval Enna Jewel. Is it true that you are playing a man?It has a fascinating story. My character is that of a girl who grew up in Kerala till she is 12 years old and was married off to a 65-year-old Arab. She has a baby when she is just 14 and a half. Thus the mother and child grow up together, literally. The so-called husband dies in a few years and the story is about what happens afterwards. She has forgotten Malayalam and yet doesn’t know any other language properly. But she has to survive in an alien land, with a baby in tow.
Society looks at such a child as one without a father and so she turns into her father. The movie is also about the difference in the way society perceives a single father and a single mother. I have tried my best to pull off the character.

How was it to have international actors like Adil Hussain and Reem Kadem as co-stars?I was amazed by the kind of preparation Hollywood actors do for their roles. I started thinking about my character after reaching the set. But Reem had already put in six months of homework and research. “God, six months? I haven’t thought about the character for six hours!” I realised. It was inspiring to see the kind of effort Adil and Reem put in.

The movie must have been an eye-opener with regard to women’s issues as well?The movie is not a document of real life incidents but the filmmaker’s perception. But incidents of little girls being married off to old men still happen in areas like Malappuram.
Every character, for me, reveals some kind of reality and here it was the realisation that only 5 or maybe 10% of women in India lead reasonably decent lives. The rest are struggling, and it’s not financial or emotional struggles but purely physical ones. Kerala is better off than the North, where women don’t get the respect they deserve. Playing such a woman is scary and can emotionally drain you.

I consider myself very lucky. Till now, I have only felt that being a wife or mother is just an extension and part of my being, not a burden. Before marriage, my parents never tried to restrict me, neither does my husband now. Not only is my husband the most encouraging partner, he is more demanding than me when it comes to films, wanting me to do better roles. If I come across a character which is against the so-called ‘samskaram’ he would be the one pushing me to take it up. ‘You are an artiste and your job demands it’, he would say. And it’s not like I bring a character to the house! I am also lucky that I can forget about any character I do
within 24 hours. I can laugh heartily within minutes of doing a crying scene. In real life also, I cannot remember anything negative for long.

In general do you feel that Malayali girls do not react enough to crimes against them?For Malayalis in general, reactions are less, but opinions are more. ‘What will people think’ is the stance for everything. If a girl reacts to a crime against her, the instant reaction is, ‘What will be her future now?’ and ‘How will she get married now?’ I personally believe that a person who is supporting a crime is equally responsible as the one doing it.

Think of a physical ailment, for example. Unless addressed, how will it be resolved? At times I feel we are all going backwards.

So did you lose weight to play a man in the film?To be honest, I was planning to lose weight anyway and the film just gave me an inspiration and a deadline to do so. It was totally my choice and I told the director I will be losing weight for it. He said go ahead and gave me three months. I didn’t reach my target but I did lose my post-baby weight. I was a very lazy mom these four years. I’ve heard that moms often let themselves go after a baby and just enjoy that phase. I too did just that. Then I felt it’s high time I got back to being fit, especially after meeting friends in Bollywood. ‘I just had a baby’, I would say as an excuse to them. ‘But that was four years ago’, they would say, and I would feel terrible.

How did you achieve the weight loss?I’m a hardcore foodie and I absolutely enjoy and relish food. So I didn’t cut out any of my favourite foods but just did portion control. Although I have cheat days, I still continue with controlling the portions. And I have started to relish every morsel of food I eat. A big plate of biryani, for example; we actually relish just the first few bites and eat the rest just to finish it. I take only those first bites now and a biryani is enough for four meals. And I have sweets only before 4 pm.
I don’t do any workouts because Kerala just doesn’t allow me to work out. It’s not there in the air. In Mumbai, everyone goes for walks or something. You see your neighbour uncle going for a walk and he asks, ‘Coming?’ ‘Yes’, you say. I love the outdoors more than the gym.

Is it because you are a foodie that Aashiq Abu offered Salt N’ Pepper to you? What kind of foods do you like?Oh no, Aashiq didn’t know me and just sent a message via social media saying, ‘I’m the director of Daddy Cool, I’d like to narrate a story to you. Shyam Pushkar and Dileesh Pothen later told me the story over the phone. I fell in love with it. We shot after six months but all through, I was pushing them to do the film, ‘it’s going to be fantabulous’, I told them. So when I was eating the cake in the movie I was actually savouring every bit of it.

I used to love exotic cuisines like Italian but now I just love simple dishes like thoran and moru curry. I always have a cook with me because I like only rice and I want it hot-hot. I’m not into mutton or beef but I love fish, my all-time favourite.

What news of your little daughter? Does she recognise you on the screen?

Sabaiina turned four in September, and we went to an old age home and had lunch on the day. And yes, she realised that I am an actress long back. When people recognise me and call me my name she would wave her hand, like Queen Elizabeth. She knows very well that in public amma will be given more recognition and will conveniently shift towards me. ‘So now you don’t want dad anymore. Just wait till you come home’, her dad would say. But I like that street smartness in her. She better be, as she is going to grow up in this generation.

Any other movies coming up?

I’m also doing a Tamil movie called Enai Dalam. It means the internet and the story revolves around a cybercrime and its investigation. It’s a murder thriller and there are four major characters in it.

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